The Fifty Bibles of Constantine were Bibles in the original Greek language commissioned in 331 by Constantine I and prepared by Eusebius of Caesarea. They were made for the use of the Bishop of Constantinople in the growing number of churches in that very new city. Eusebius quoted the letter of commission in his Life of Constantine, and it is the only surviving source from which we know of the existence of the Bibles. [1]
It is speculated that this commission may have provided motivation for the development of the canon lists and that Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are possible surviving examples of these Bibles. [2] There is no evidence among the records of the First Council of Nicaea of any determination on the canon; however, Jerome, in his Prologue to Judith, makes the claim that the Book of Judith was "found by the Nicene Council to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures". [3]
According to Eusebius, Constantine I wrote him in his letter:
I have thought it expedient to instruct your Prudence to order fifty copies of the sacred Scriptures, the provision and use of which you know to be most needful for the instruction of the Church, to be written on prepared parchment in a legible manner, and in a convenient, portable form, by professional transcribers thoroughly practised in their art. [4]
About accomplishing the Emperor's demand:
Such were the emperor's commands, which were followed by the immediate execution of the work itself, which we sent him in magnificent and elaborately bound volumes of a threefold and fourfold form. [5]
This is the usual way in which Eusebius' text is translated, but there are more possibilities, because the phrase "ἐν πολυτελῶς ἠσκημένοις τεύχεσιν τρισσὰ καὶ τετρασσὰ διαπεμψάντων ἡμῶν" has many potential meanings:
Athanasius of Alexandria referred to another request of producing Bible manuscripts: "I sent to him volumes containing the holy Scriptures, which he had ordered me to prepare for him." [6] [7] Athanasius could have received this request between 337 and 339. [8]
Constantin von Tischendorf, discoverer of Codex Sinaiticus, believed that Sinaiticus and Vaticanus were among these fifty Bibles prepared by Eusebius in Caesarea. According to him, they were written with three (as Vaticanus) or four columns per page (as Sinaiticus). [9] [10] Tischendorf's view was supported by Pierre Batiffol. [11]
Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener rejected Tischendorf's speculation because of differences between the two manuscripts. In Sinaiticus, the text of the Gospels is divided according to the Ammonian Sections with references to the Eusebian Canons, but Vaticanus used the older system of division. Vaticanus was prepared in a format of 5 folios in one quire, but Sinaiticus had 8 folios. According to Scrivener, Eusebian Bibles contained three or four folios per quire (Scrivener used a Latin version of Valesius). Scrivener stated that the Eusebian is unclear and should not be used for a doubtful theory. [12]
Westcott and Hort argued the order of biblical books on the Eusebian list of the canonical books, quoted by Eusebius in "Ecclesiastical History" (III, 25), is different from every surviving manuscript. Probably none of the 50 copies survive today. [13]
Caspar René Gregory believed that Vaticanus and Sinaiticus were written in Caesarea, and they could belong to the Eusebian fifty. [14] [15]
According to Victor Gardthausen Sinaiticus is younger than Vaticanus by at least 50 years. [16]
Kirsopp Lake states "copies of three and four columns" is grammatically sound, but there appears not to be good evidence for this technical use of the words. "Sending them by threes of fours" is the most attractive, but there is no evidence that τρισσα can denote "three at a time". Regarding "in three or four columns per page," there is only one known manuscript written in that way – Sinaiticus. Sinaiticus has a curious spelling of the word κραβαττος as κραβακτος; Sinaiticus spells Ισραηλειτης as Ισδραηλειτης, Vaticanus as Ιστραηλειτης; these forms have been regarded as Latin, and they can be found in papyri from Egypt. There is no other known Greek district in which these forms were used. The argument for a Caesarean origin of these two manuscripts is much weaker than Egyptian. [17]
According to Heinrich Schumacher, Eusebius instead prepared fifty lectionaries, not Bibles. [18]
Skeat argued that Sinaiticus was a first attempt to produce a full Bible in fulfillment of Constantine's order but was abandoned before completion in favor of a more compact form (then languishing in Caesarea until salvaged in the sixth century), while Vaticanus was one of the fifty Bibles actually delivered to Constantinople. [19]
Kurt Aland, Bruce M. Metzger, Bart D. Ehrman doubt that Sinaiticus and Vaticanus were copied by Eusebius on the Constantine order. [20]
Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the world's oldest and most complete Bible dated to around the mid-4th century and called Codex Sinaiticus after Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai, where Tischendorf discovered it.
The Codex Sinaiticus, designated by siglum א [Aleph] or 01, δ 2, or Sinai Bible is a fourth century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the Apocrypha along with the deuterocanonical books, and the Greek New Testament, with both the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas included. It is written in uncial letters on parchment. It is one of the four great uncial codices. Along with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible, and contains the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. It is a historical treasure, and using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the mid-fourth century.
The Codex Vaticanus, designated by siglum B or 03, δ 1, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament and the majority of the Greek New Testament. It is one of the four great uncial codices. Along with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Sinaiticus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. The codex has been dated palaeographically to the 4th century.
The Codex Alexandrinus, designated by the siglum A or 02, δ 4, is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the fifth century. It contains the majority of the Greek Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. It is one of the four Great uncial codices. Along with Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible.
The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus designated by the siglum C or 04, δ 3, is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It contains most of the New Testament and some Old Testament books, with sizeable portions missing. It is one of the four great uncials. The manuscript is not intact: its current condition contains material from every New Testament book except 2 Thessalonians and 2 John; however, only six books of the Greek Old Testament are represented. It is not known whether 2 Thessalonians and 2 John were excluded on purpose, or whether no fragment of either epistle happened to survive.
Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into chapters and verses used in modern texts date only from the 13th and 16th centuries, respectively. The sections are indicated in the margin of nearly all Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Bible, and usually summarized in canon tables at the start of the Gospels. There are about 1165 sections: 355 for Matthew, 235 for Mark, 343 for Luke, and 232 for John; the numbers, however, vary slightly in different manuscripts.
A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures to huge polyglot codices containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as extracanonical works.
Codex Vaticanus, designated by S or 028, ε 1027, formerly called Codex Guelpherbytanus, is a Greek manuscript of the four Gospels which can be dated to a specific year instead of an estimated range. The colophon of the codex lists the date as 949. This manuscript is one of the four oldest New Testament manuscripts dated in this manner, and the only dated uncial.
Uncial 030, designated by siglum U or 030, ε 90, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript has complex contents, with full marginalia.
Codex Cyprius, designated by Ke or 017, ε71, or Codex Colbertinus 5149, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is one of the few uncial manuscripts with the complete text of the four Gospels, and it is one of the more important late uncial manuscripts. It was brought from Cyprus to Paris.
Codex Nitriensis, designated by R or 027, ε 22, is a 6th-century Greek New Testament codex containing the Gospel of Luke, in a fragmentary condition. It is a two column manuscript in majuscules, measuring 29.5 cm by 23.5 cm.
Minuscule 124, ε 1211, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative writings styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the 11th century. It has marginalia and liturgical matter.
Minuscule 118, ε 346 (Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 13th-century. It has complex contents with some marginalia.
Lectionary 13, designated by siglum ℓ13. It is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on vellum leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th-century. Formerly it was known as Colbertinus 1241 or Regius 1982.
Minuscule 480, δ 462, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1366. The manuscript is lacunose. The manuscript was adapted for liturgical use. It has marginalia. It contains liturgical books with hagiographies: Synaxarion and Menologion.
Minuscule 482, ε 1017, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1285 . Scrivener labelled it by number 570. The manuscript has complex context, but faded in parts. The text exhibits more numerous and bolder textual variants than usual manuscripts of the four Gospels. Marginal apparatus is given fully.
Minuscule 496, δ 360, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th-century. Scrivener labelled it by number 582. The manuscript has complex contents with full marginalia and liturgical books.
Lectionary 292, designated by siglum ℓ292 is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 9th century. Scrivener labelled it as 189e.
Lectionary 300, designated by siglum ℓ300 is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, written on parchment. It has been palaeographically assigned to the 11th century. The manuscript is written in gold ink and contains Gospel lessons for selected days. It was named as "Gospel of Theodosius".
The great uncial codices or four great uncials are the only remaining uncial codices that contain the entire text of the Bible in Greek. They are the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library, the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrinus in the British Library, and the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
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